Nguyen Van Bay’s green skin pomelos are certified with a 4-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) rating. (Photo: Nhat Truong/VOV)

Nguyen Van Bay is known not only as an excellent farmer but also for his simple life and dedication to social work. At the age of 62, Bay remains active in working on his family’s orchard with a variety of fruit trees.

Starting with a piece of land inherited from his grandparents, Bay now owns around 5 hectares for cultivation. He practices multi-crop fruit farming which follows organic and VietGAP and green standards.

Currently, his orchard has more than 1,000 coconut trees, 2,500 orange and mandarin trees, 500 green pomelo trees, and areca nut trees. The garden is equipped with a water storage canal system and an automated irrigation system, which also support aquaculture. Remarkably, Bay’s orchard adheres to chemical-free practices. His green skin pomelos are certified with a 4-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) rating, making them eligible for export.

“I use organic waste and by-products from coconut trees to make green compost. Green fungus is added to stimulate the decomposition. Mud from fish ponds is taken out every two years to enrich the soil. I also raise weaver ants to avoid using chemical pesticides, ensuring no harm to the environment or ecosystem. This way, my orchard remains free of heavy metal contamination, and my trees bear fruit year-round,” Bay said.

Each year, Bay harvests over 16 tons of pomelos, lemons, oranges and tangerines, and tens of thousands of coconuts, earning him a revenue of hundreds of thousands of USD. Bay also earns additional income from fish farming.

Bay is also a pioneer in implementing measures to fight drought and salinity. His commune frequently faces severe saltwater intrusion, but his orchard remains unaffected because the canals in his garden store tens of thousands of cubic meters of freshwater.

“I have a closed embankment system so that my garden won’t be affected by saltwater intrusion. Every year, I reinforce the embankments and spend 10-15% of my income on reinvestment. I monitor salinity levels daily and share the information on social media platforms like Facebook and Zalo so that farmers can stay informed,” said Bay.

Nguyen Van Bay and fish pond. (Photo: Nhat Truong/VOV)

Bay was selected as the Chairman of the Board of Members and Director of the Giong Trom district’s green pomelo cooperative. In addition to producing and trading green-skin pomelos, the cooperative has diversified its production, creating jobs and income for many workers. For 20 consecutive years, Bay has been honored as a “National Outstanding Farmer” and is a member of the “Billionaire Farmers Club” in Ben Tre province.

“Bay has applied advanced production techniques to grow clean crops. In this area, few people have orchards as large as his,” Bui Thanh Hieu , Chairman of the Luong How Commune People’s Committee, said.

For Bay, a farmer must prioritize community health and ensure their products are safe to achieve sustainability.